Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Hublot Celebrates the Grand Opening of its Boutique in SKP Beijing and Launches the Spirit of Big Bang Bruce Lee Be Water Limited Edition Timepiece as a Tribute to the Kung Fu Superstar

The Swiss luxury watch brand HUBLOT held a grand opening ceremony on March1st, 2016 to celebrate its new SKP Beijing boutique. Located inside the high-end commercial landmark in Beijing, SKP, the boutique represents another milestone for HUBLOT in the Chinese market.

Meanwhile, the watch brand joins hands once again with the Bruce Lee Foundation to hold the "Be Water, My Friend- Legend of Bruce Lee Memorial Exhibition” from 1stto 6thMarch 2016 in Beijing SKP. The Bruce Lee philosophy-themed exhibition displays precious items that Bruce Lee owned himself, as well as a variety of HUBLOT limited edition timepieces.

Loic Biver, General Manager of Hublot Greater China, together with Shannon Lee, founder of the Bruce Lee Foundation and Bruce Lee’s daughter, cut the ribbon of the new store, and launched the Spirit of Big Bang Bruce Lee Be Water Limited Edition as a tribute to the Kung Fu superstar .

HUBLOT SKP Beijing boutique adheres to the brand-specific distinguished black color , and itsdesign concept combines luxury with innovation, creating a premier and modern customer experience. Inside the store, the dark gray carpet and the black leather furniture combined with the glass and metal counters create a contemporary environment. A touch of subtle scientific and technological elements is added in the window display, telling the wonderful story of the brand that connects its past with the future, with the unique projections on a book with light and shadows. Big Bang, Classic Fusion, King Power, Manufacture Pieces and novelties are all displayed together, highlighting the brand's essence of watchmaking and modern design.

The legend of Bruce Lee Memorial Exhibition
For the Be Water My Friend--the legend of Bruce Lee Memorial Exhibition, HUBLOT invited the Bruce Lee Foundation to display precious items from Bruce Lee’s personal life, and participated in the exhibition design.

The exhibition displays personal items belonging to Bruce Lee. They include a Tang-style Kung Fu jacket that carries the martial arts spirit of Bruce Lee, a genuine copy of the “Way of the Dragon” script, a replica of the life mask of Kato in “The Green Hornet“, and the business card for the Bruce Lee Martial Arts Studio founded by Bruce Lee.

Additionally, thanks to its innovative approach, guests can experience the « Bruce Lee Mirror”, a cylindrical glass photo frame featuring Bruce Lee’s classic kung fu postures. Made of glass fragments, it plays on 3D special effects, integrating the Hublot Unico In-House chronograph movement and Bruce Lee in the same time and space. There is also a display of the most representative classic photos of Bruce Lee selected by the Foundation. Hublot adopts the ultramodern design to present the watch images in six external showcases, symbolizing the heritage of Bruce Lee’s spirit and his iconic martial arts philosophy.

As the most influential legend and superstar, Bruce Lee was the best embodiment of fusion of East and West. As a pioneer, he was the first Chinese martial artist that promoted Chinese Kung Fu to the world. He was active his entire life in East-West cultural communication. Ever since its establishment in Nyon, Switzerland 1980, HUBLOT has always been moving forward as a groundbreaking pioneer, breaking through traditional concepts, boldly combining tradition with modernity, connecting the past with the future and creating many "Firsts".

Bruce Lee first broke the traditional sectarianism in the world of martial arts, bo ldly combined Taoist philosophy from the East with Wing Chun, Western boxing, karate and taekwondo to create Jeet Kune Do, which is exactly the "Art of Fusion" that HUBLOT-embodies. With the combination of a natural rubber strap and precious metal materials, Hublot makes an epoch-making innovation in the history of watchmaking. Since then, each fusion of material, East and West, will produce stunning breakthroughs and innovations.

Bruce Lee’s legacy is not limited to the martial arts, but also ideas and philosophy. This is one of the reasons why people still respect him as a martial artist and philosopher. Bruce Lee explained the Jeet Kune Do philosophy that he had created as a process of exploration, self-discovery and the growth of a soul. Hublot believes in the natural forces that come from the natural energy of the universe. The creation of Big Bang watches was born from precisely this idea. In exploring the fusion concept between minerals and phytochemicals, Hublot focused on time, expanding watchmaking philosophies. The art of fusion does not only occur in the above two areas, the fusion of sky and the earth, the fusion of tradition and innovation also occur all the time.

Spirit of Big Bang Bruce Lee Be Water – Limited Edition
Inspired by the dragon pattern on Bruce Lee’s desk, this tribute possesses the spirit of the martial arts legend and the pure DNA of Hublot. A limited edition of 100 pieces, featuring a tonneau case in all-black microblasted ceramic.

The timepiece is fitted with HUB4700 – an automatic winding skeletonized movement with a 50-hour power reserve. The date display window is at 4:30 and the chronograph displays seconds at 9 o’clock, minutes at 3 o’clock and hours at 6 o’clock. Recalling Bruce Lee’s philosophy of water, the strap is made of blue alligator leather sewn on natural rubber.